Below is the calendar for the course. Links to lecture outlines will be posted (in the first column of the tables) no later than 16 hours before the lecture in question. Lectures are linked in pdf format in color 1/page("c"), black-and-white 1/page ("b"), and black-and-white 6/page ("6"). Past students have found it helpful to print copies of the lectures before coming to class, and to take additional notes both separately and on the lecture printouts (usually 6/page to save paper while maintaining legibility). Because these lecture notes include copyrighted images from texts, they may not be made public, but instead are limited to viewing from a .syr.edu domain. Therefore, to view these notes from off-campus you must first connect using VPN (so your computer is part of Syracuse's virtual private network). Excellent directions for installing and using VPN are listed on the ITS Remote Access Security Webpage.
On-line homework posted on the Mastering Astronomy website is due before each class, on the material covered in the previous class. Each assignment will be available one week before it is due, and will remain available until the end of the semester. Late work will incur a penalty of 3% per day up to a maximum of 50%. The MasteringAstronomy course ID is SU2010AST104.
Assigned readings are listed in the fourth column of the tables. Any changes to the assigned readings will be announced to the class via email and updated on this website no later than one week before they are due. It is recommended that you complete the reading assignments before the corresponding class. Students who complete the assignments before class get more out of the lecture. All readings are from the required text The Essential Cosmic Perspective by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, and Voit, 5th Edition, 2009. To find the page numbers of the required reading (the section numbers are the same) in the 4th edition of the text (which is a perfectly acceptable substitute), see the Pages for 4th Edition Readings here.
Links to lab assignments will be posted (in the final column) at least one week before the lab, listed on each day the lab will be performed. Lab assignments should be read before your laboratory session. Lab sections meet in Room B129-E (in the Physics Building Basement).
Sample exams will be posted at least one week before each exam, with the answer key to the sample exam posted at least three days before the exam.
| Lecture | Date | Topic | Readings | Laboratory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (c, b, 6) | Tue, 1/19 | The science of astronomy | "How to Succeed" (pp. xx-xxi), 3.4 (pp. 70-77), Appendix C.1-C.2 (pp.A-4 - A-7) | Introduction to Astronomy |
| Wed, 1/20 | Introduction to Astronomy | |||
| 2 (c, b, 6) | Thu, 1/21 | The night sky | 2.1 "What Does the Universe Look Like from Earth" (pp. 27-30), Appendix C.3 (pp.A-7 - A-10) | Introduction to Astronomy |
| Mon, 1/25 | Introduction to Astronomy | |||
| 3 (c, b, 6) | Tue, 1/26 | The motion of the night sky | 2.1 (pp. 31-34) | Finding objects in the sky |
| Wed, 1/27 | Finding objects in the sky | |||
| 4 (c, b, 6) | Thu, 1/28 | The distance to the stars | 11.1 "Stellar Luminosities" (pp. 307-311), 2.4 "Why did the Greeks reject the real explanation for planetary motion?" (pp.50-51) | Finding objects in the sky |
| Mon, 2/1 | Finding objects in the sky | |||
| 5 (c, b, 6) | Tue, 2/2 | Light | 5.1 "What is light" (pp. 111-114), 5.2 "How does light tell us temperatures" (121-123) | Distance measurements |
| Wed, 2/3 | Distance measurements | |||
| 6 (c, b, 6) | Thu, 2/4 | Matter and light | 5.1-5.2 (pp. 114-121), 11.1 "Stellar Temperatures" (pp. 311-314) | Distance measurements |
| Mon, 2/8 | Distance measurements | |||
| 7 (c, b, 6) | Tue, 2/9 | Review | none | No lab |
| Thu, 2/11 | Midterm 1 | Sample Exam and corresponding Answer Key, and Actual Exam short answers | No lab |
| Lecture | Date | Topic | Readings | Laboratory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, 2/15 | Spectra | |||
| 8 (c, b, 6) | Tue, 2/16 | The nature of stars | 11.2 (pp. 315-323) | Spectra |
| Wed, 2/17 | Spectra | |||
| 9 (c, b, 6) | Thu, 2/18 | Measuring the stars | 5.2 "The Doppler Effect" (pp. 123-125), 11.1 "Stellar Masses" (pp. 314-315) | Spectra |
| Mon, 2/22 | Understanding Stars | |||
| 10 (c, b, 6) | Tue, 2/23 | The births and lives of stars | 10.1 "Why does the sun shine" (pp. 286-287), 10.2 "How does fusion occur" (289-292),12.1-12.2 through "Red Giant Stage" (pp. 332-341) | Understanding Stars |
| Wed, 2/24 | Understanding Stars | |||
| Thu, 2/25 | CLASS CANCELED DUE TO SNOW | Understanding Stars | ||
| Mon, 3/1 | Star cluster distances | |||
| 11 (c, b, 6) | Tue, 3/2 | The deaths of stars | 12.2-12.4, 13.1 (pp. 341-356, 362-367), Onion article on Shaq (not required but funny) | Star cluster distances |
| Wed, 3/3 | Star cluster distances | |||
| 12 (c, b, 6), Review (c, b, 6) | Thu, 3/4 | Neutron stars and black holes (Guest: Prof. Peter Saulson); review session at 5:30 pm | 13.2-13.3 (pp. 367-376), 14.4 (pp. 404-405) | Star cluster distances |
| Mon, 3/8 | Special office hours 3 pm - 6pm | No lab | ||
| Tue, 3/9 | Midterm 2 | Sample Exam and corresponding Answer Key, and Actual Exam short answers | No lab | |
| 14 (c, b, 6) | Thu, 3/11 | The Milky Way Galaxy | 14.1 "What does our galaxy look like" (pp. 387-89), 14.2 "Distribution of gas in the Milky Way" (pp. 396-98) | No lab |
| Lecture | Date | Topic | Readings | Laboratory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, 3/22 | Galaxies (VR) | |||
| 15 (c, b, 6) | Tue, 3/23 | Formation of the Milky Way | 11.3 (pp. 323-326), 14.2-3 from "Where do stars form" (pp. 398-404) | Galaxies (VR) |
| Wed, 3/24 | Galaxies (VR) | |||
| 16 (c, b, 6) | Thu, 3/25 | Other Galaxies | 15.1-2 through "Cepheid Variables" (pp. 411-419) | Galaxies (VR) |
| Mon, 3/29 | Dark Matter | |||
| 17 (c, b, 6) | Tue, 3/30 | Dark Matter | 14.1 "How do stars orbit in our galaxy" (pp. 389-391), 16.1-2 through "Does dark matter really exist" (pp. 444-452) | Dark Matter |
| Wed, 3/31 | Dark Matter | |||
| 18 (c, b, 6) | Thu, 4/1 | The Universe on large scales | 15.2 (pp. 419-425), 16.3 "Largest Structures" (pp. 456-8) | Dark Matter |
| Mon, 4/5 | Hubble's Law | |||
| 19 (c, b, 6) | Tue, 4/6 | Galaxy Evolution | 15.3-4 (pp. 426-437), 17.4 (pp. 490-492) | Hubble's Law |
| Wed, 4/7 | Hubble's Law | |||
| 20 (c, b, 6) | Thu, 4/8 | Review | none | Hubble's Law |
| Tue, 4/13 | Midterm 3 | Sample Exam and Answer Key, and Exam Answer Key | no lab |
| Lecture | Date | Topic | Readings | Laboratory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 c, b, 6) | Thu, 4/15 | The history of the universe | 17.1 "Conditions in the early universe" (pp. 471-72), 17.2 "radiation left over from the Big Bang" (pp.480-81) | no lab |
| Mon, 4/19 | Hierarchical Structure | |||
| 22 (c, b, 6) | Tue, 4/20 | The origin of matter (Guest: Prof. Steve Blusk) | 17.1 (pp. 472-480) | Hierarchical Structure |
| Wed, 4/21 | Hierarchical Structure | |||
| 23 (c, b, 6) | Thu, 4/22 | The contents of the universe | 17.2 "How do abundances of elements support Big Bang" (pp. 483-485), 16.2-3 from "What might dark matter be" (pp. 453-458), Check out "Cloud chamber" in physics lobby. | Hierarchical Structure |
| Mon, 4/26 | 8:25am-10:25am makeup lab 1: Introduction; 12:45-2:45 makeup lab 2: Finding Objects in the Sky; 3:45-5:45 makeup lab 7: Galaxies | |||
| 24 (c, b, 6 | )Tue, 4/27 | The shape of the universe | 17.2 "radiation from the Big Bang"(pp. 482-483), 17.3 (pp. 485-490) | 5-7pm makeup lab 5: Stars and lab 6: Star Clusters |
| Wed, 4/28 | 8:25am-10:25am makeup lab 8:Dark Matter and lab 9:Hubble's Law; 3:45-5:45pm makeup lab 3: Distances | |||
| 25 c, b, 6, video) | Thu, 4/29 | The fate of the Universe | 16.4 (pp. 458-463) | |
| Fri, 4/30 | noon - 1 pm makeup lab 1: Introduction; makeup lab 10: Hierarchical Structure | |||
| Mon, 5/3 | 3:45-5:45pm makeup lab 4: Spectra | |||
| 26 (c, b, 6) | Tue, 5/4 | Overview of the Universe (Guest: Prof. Armendariz-Picon) | None | |
| Fri, 5/7 | Final Exam, 3:00 - 5:00 pm | Sample Exam and Answer Key | Physics Building, Stolkin Auditorium (normal lecture room) |